Three romantic breaks for Valentine’s Day

A country pub in Buckinghamshire

“It’s hard to eat an inventive eight-course tasting menu, drink half a bottle of Portuguese red and still feel frisky,” says Alessia Horwich in The Sunday Times. “But if you’re going to pull it off anywhere, it’s at the Mash Inn.” This “relaxed, adults-only” 18th-century pub in the hamlet of Bennett End, Buckinghamshire, has “low ceilings, a huge old fireplace, snug corners, candlelight and Nordic-influenced meals cooked over an open fire”.

The table in the dining room is a “monster”, bolted together from two tree trunks that will “make you want to take off your clothes and lie on it”. But that would spoil things for the other diners, says Horwich. So, “head upstairs and get it out of your system on the super-kingsize bed”.

A chic hotel in Edinburgh

The Bonham in Edinburgh is perfect for your Valentine’s Day needs, says The Scotsman. Located just down the road from the city’s famous tourist spots, restaurants and pubs, this “stylish boutique hotel” is “a sleek and chic choice for a romantic holiday”. While the outside is a “formal, Victorian affair”, the interiors are “colourfully modern”, while the 49 bedrooms each have their own “sophisticated glamour”.

Modern European cuisine is to be found in the restaurant, which also serves a “scrumptious” high tea. “But the most famous meal at the Bonham is the Snoozy Boozy lunch, which has been on the go since 2002.” The Consulting Room, the hotel bar, is perfect for an “intimate drink with your significant other, whether it be wine, cocktails, or a night-cap”.

A romantic bolthole in Chester

Edgar House, an adults-only Georgian establishment within Chester’s city walls, beat off competition from Rome, Paris and Barcelona to be named Europe’s most romantic hotel, says Chris Riches in the Daily Mirror. The boutique “bolthole” with views over the River Dee was awarded the accolade in the 2017 TripAdvisor Travellers’ Choice Awards for Hotels. The hotel’s seven bedrooms are individually designed and have free-standing baths. There’s even a mini cinema serving popcorn and ice cream, as well as an honesty bar inside a phone box.